Valve structure for footballs, basket balls, and the like



Aug. 22, 1933. MI SCUDDER,

VALVE STRUCTURE' Fon FoTBALLs, BASKET BALLS, AND THE LIKE Filed NOV. 14, 1931 FiGA.

....f.. r Mm w T D P N D o. 6.0 T w C f la.V A wf, H M ..r.,. Y au Patented 22, 1933 UNITED s'rnrs PATENT ori-ice VALVE STRUCTUREA FOR FOOTBALLS,

I BASKET BALLS, AND THE LIKE Mason Scuddcr, Clayton, Mo., assignor to Rawlings Manufacturing Company, St. Louis,

Mo., a v Corporation ol Missouri Application November 14, 1931 Serial No. 574,985

2 claims.

to forcing air into the bladder to which the valve` body'is attached.

One object of my invention is to provide a valve structure of theV general type mentioned, which is of such construction that the valve will not become leaky, due to repeated use of an inflating needle.

Another object is toprovide a valve structure for balls of the general type referred to, that is equipped with a metallic sealing means which is located on the interior of the bladder of the 20. ball far enough away from the casing of the ball to prevent the ball from having a hard spot and also to eliminate the possibility of its causing injury to the user if the users hand strikes the ball, or if the ball comes in contact with the users head.

To this end I have devised a valve structure for balls, composed of a non-metallic body portion formed preferably from a block of rubber attached to the bladder of the ball and arranged on the interior of said bladder, a longitudinallydisposed passageway in said body portion extending inwardly from the outer end of same and communicating with a cavity located adjacent the inner end of said body portion, a valve seat member imbedded in said body portion and arranged so as to form one wall of said cavity,

and a manually-adjustable valve element in said cavity provided with an externally screw-threaded part that is screwed into said valve seat memben said valve element being adapted to be seated and unseated by means of a hollow needle or other device that is inserted in the passageway in the body portion of the valve structure.

Figure 1 of the drawing is a fragmentary top plan view of a ball constructed in accordance i with my invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical, transverse sectional view, taken through the casing, through the bladder and through the valveof the ball.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the inating needle used to unseat and seat the sealing element ofthe valve.

Figure 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the valve, showing the sealing element u nseated.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional -view, illustrating another type of sealing element that may be employed, showing said sealing element seated; and

Figure 6 is a side elevational view, illustrating an inflating needle of slightly diil'erent construction than the one shown in Figure 3.

In the drawing A designates the leather casing of a football, basket ball, soccer ball or similar ball, B designates the rubber bladder arranged inside of the casing, and C designates the body of the valve. Said valve body C is constructed of non-metallic material, and is permanently combined with thebladder B in such a way that lthe majorl portion of said body is arranged on the interior of the bladder, anda reduced portion C at the outer end of said body (iai is positioned in a hole in the casing A. The

valve body C is herein illustrated as being formed from a cylindrical piece of rubber arranged in .a hole in the bladder and projecting into the interior of the bladder a considerable distance.- Said piece of rubber is provided adjacent its outer end with a flange 1 that laps over the bladder, and which, in turn, is overlapped by a retaining member 2 that bears on the exterior of the bladder, said flange and retaining member being secured to the bladder by an adhesive or in any other suitable way. Extending longitudinally through the valve body C from the reduced outer end portion C' of same, is an opening or passageway 3 that' is adapted to receive an inating needle :c which is used in the operation of inflating the bladder and which consists of a substantially tubular-shaped member provided with a threaded portion 4, by means of which it can be connected with a pump or other suitable inating device.

The sealing means of the valve is composed of a valve seat member D formed of any suit- 9 able material, preferably metal, mounted in the inner end portion of thevalve body C, and an adjustable sealing element E screwed into said valve seat member and constructed so that it can be detachably coupled with the inflating needle, which thereafter is turned so as to unseat the valve or sealing elementE, Usually, the sealing element E will be positioned in a cavity 3a at the inner end of the passageway 3 in the valve body,

and said sealing element will be provided with 1 an externally screw-threaded shank 5 that is screwed into a hole in the valve seat member D. In order that the inflating needle k:l: may be used to turn the sealing element E in a direction to seat or unseat said element, a transversely-disposed slot 6 is formed in the upper end of the sealing element E so as to receive a blade or screw-driver portion 6a on the lower end of the inating needle m. To unseal the bladder lt is only necessary to insert the inflating needle ln the passageway 3 in the valve body so that the blade on said needle is interlocked with the sealing element E, and then rotate the needle in a direction to unscrew the sealing element or move it away from the valve seat member D. After the bladder has been inflated the needle :c is turned vin the opposite direction, so as to move the sealing element E towards the valve seat member far enough to produce a tight joint between the element E and the member D. When the ball is in use there is no part or portion of the sealing means that is visible, or which is located near enough to the casing to form a hard spot on the casing. It is immaterial what means is employed to establish communication between the interior of the bladder and the air passageway la of the needle :c when the sealing element E is unseated, but I prefer to form a verticallydisposed air passageway 7 in the shank 5 and provide the upper end of said passageway 7 with one or more lateral ports '7a that terminate in the exterior of the shank 5, as shown in Figures 1 and 4. When the sealing element E is seated, as shown in Figure 2, the lateral ports 7a are surrounded by the valve seat member D, and hence, the sealing element E electively cuts oi communication between the interior of the bladder and the air passageway in the Yshank of the inflating needle. When the sealing element'E is unseated, as shown in Figure 4, the lateral ports '7a are positioned above the valve seat member D, and hence, direct communication is established between the interior of the bladder and the air passageway in the shank of the inflating needle, the cavity 3a in which the sealing' element E is positioned being enough larger than said sealing element to permit the air supplied through the inflating needle to flow around the sealing element and enter the bladder through the ports 7a and air passageway 7 in the shank 5 of the sealing element. The opposed or coacting surfaces on the sealing element E and on the valve seat member D may be at, as shown in Figure 4, or they may be tapered, as shown in Figure 5, and said co-acting surfaces may be ground or machined, or a gasket F may be interposed between the sealing element and the opposed surface of the valve seat member. The cavity 3a in the Valve body C in which the sealing element E is positioned may be proportioned so that the top wall of said cavity serves as a stop which limits the movement of the sealing element E when said element is being .unseated, or, if desired, the shank 5 of the sealing element may be provided at its inner end with astop 8 that co-acts with the valve seat member D to limit the movement of the sealing element when said `element is being turned to unseal the bladder. Itis immaterial how the valve seat member D is combined with the valve body C, although it is essenetial that said parts be connected together by an air-tight joint.

A ball equipped with 'a valve of the construction above described is not liable to become leaky Leaaeao after long use, or after repeated use of an inflating Ineedle, due to the fact that the bladder is electively sealed by a valve or sealing element sow strikes the ball or when the ball strikes some part of the users body, this, of course, being due to the fact that all of the metallic parts of the valve are completely encased and are arranged at a point some distance inwardly from the casing of the ball. In addition' to the desirable features above pointed out, my improved ball is inexpensive to manufacture. l'

In Figure 6 I have illustrated an inflating needle which, in addition to having a pump connection 4' and a screw driver portion 6', is also equipped with an enlarged portion y' of slightly greater diameter than the passageway 3 in thevalve body C, so that when said inating needle is in use, the portion y' thereon, by contacting snugly with the wall of the passageway 3, will eiectively prevent the air from escaping from the bladder by flowing upwardly around the outside of the inating needle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A valve structure for ball bladders, comprising a non-metallic body portion attached to the bladder and projecting into the interior of same, a longitudinally-disposed passageway in said body portion that is adapted to receive an inflating device, a cavity in said body portion located at the inner end of said passageway, a

metallic valve seat member imbedded in said 1 body portion and arranged to form one wall of said cavity, a valve element in said cavity adapted to be actuated by a device positioned in said passageway and provided with a screw-threaded part adjustably mounted in said valve seat member, and means for establishing communication between the interior of the bladder and the inflating device when said valve element is unseated.

2. A valve structure for ball bladders, comt prising a non-metallic body portion attached to the bladder and projecting into the interior of same, a longitudinally-disposed passageway in said body portion that is adapted to receive an iniating device, a cavity in said body portion located at the inner end of said passageway, a metallic valve seat member imbedded in said body portion and arranged to form one wall of said cavity, a manually-adjustable valve element in said cavity, and an externally screw-threaded 

